BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s stocks ended almost flat in the outgoing week that ended on Thursday as investors mostly followed cautious stance amid ongoing volatile market trend.
Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 1.01 points to close at 4,772.
The DSE Shariah Index also gained 2.36 points to close at 1,096. However, the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 3.92 points to finish at 1,675.
Most of the investors adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ policy amid ongoing depressed market outlook while some rebalanced their portfolio based on earnings and dividend declarations, taking the market in the flat zone, according to experts.
Lucrative price levels and positive support from the state-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) in later part of the week helped the market to close flat, they added.
Stock brokers have already sought BDT 100 billion fund from the government to inject new life into the moribund capital market which also create a positive vibe in the market.
They, however, said some investors remained worried about the recent volatility of the market and maintaining cautious stance.
The outgoing week saw five trading days as usual. Of them, three sessions ended higher while two saw mild correction.
The weekly total turnover on the prime bourse stood at BDT 15.45 billion, slightly down from BDT 15.63 billion in the week before.
The daily turnover averaged out at BDT 3.09 billion, down 1.17 per cent from the previous week’s average of BDT 3.12 billion.
Block trade contributed 4.9 per cent to the week’s total turnover where stocks like Popular Life Insurance, Bank Asia, IDLC Finance, Marico Bangladesh, IPDC Finance and Jamuna Bank dominated the block trade board.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also advanced 0.60 per cent to BDT 3,610 billion on Thursday, from BDT 3,590 billion in the previous week.
Major sectors showed mixed performances, with power sector posted the highest gain of 5.70 per cent, followed by telecom with 2.79 per cent and banking 0.71 per cent.
On the other hand, engineering saw the highest loss of 1.84 per cent, followed by non-bank financial institutions with 1.66 per cent, food 0.49 per cent and pharma 0.46 per cent.
Losers outnumbered the gainers, as out of 355 issues traded, 244 closed lower and 90 ended higher while 21 issues remained unchanged on the DSE floor in the outgoing week.
National Tubes dominated the week’s turnover chart, with shares worth BDT 610 million changing hands during the week.
The week’s other turnover leaders were Grameenphone, Monno Jute Stafflers, United Power and Standard Ceramic.
United Power was the week’s best performer, posting a gain of 15.07 per cent while the Monno Jute Stafflers was the worst loser, shedding 34.86 per cent.
On the other hand, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended marginally higher, with its CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI –advancing 23 points to settle at 14,530 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX – gaining 16 points to finish the week at 8,832.
BBN/SSR/AD